


rockisdead

by flippyspoon



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, GASP, Instagram, M/M, THINGS THAT ARE MODERN, Uber
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:09:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22733095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flippyspoon/pseuds/flippyspoon
Summary: “Are you looking at you know who again?”“No,” Steve muttered.Rockisdead had a new story up.His thumb hovered...“I don’t get the appeal,” Robin said loftily.“That just proves how incredibly gay you are,” Steve said.“And how incredibly pan you are,” Robin said.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 18
Kudos: 333





	rockisdead

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OurLadyofPerpetualWallflowers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OurLadyofPerpetualWallflowers/gifts).



> FOR HFA and DoBetterBillyHargrove! Thank you!

“I can’t talk right now,” Steve mumbled into his phone. Robin was rambling about her latest dating adventure (“this is it for  _ sure _ , Steve”). That kind of talk used to be kinda hot to him. Now it was just white noise. Robin dated a lot after all.

“Where are you?” Robin said, sighing. 

“I’m parked at Starbucks.”

“Oh, that narrows it down.”

“I’m in…’Napolis…”

He almost didn’t hear her. He was messing around on Instagram, attempting to resist the urge to look at one account in particular; someone he was potentially maybe slightly obsessed with. He had managed not to start following rockisdead though. That would have been a disaster.

What if he  _ noticed _ ?

“Uh huh,” Steve said. His thumb hovered over the account name and he sighed, caving as usual.

“Are you looking at you know who again?”

“No,” Steve muttered. 

Rockisdead had a new story up. 

His thumb hovered...

“I don’t get the appeal,” Robin said loftily.

“That just proves how incredibly gay you are,” Steve said. 

“And how incredibly pan you are,” Robin said.

Steve chewed on his lip. 

Rockisdead posted pretty regularly but every post was precious. Especially a story. Maybe he should save it for later…

“The mullet though,” Robin said. He could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “Seriously.”

“It’s not quite a mullet,” Steve said. He resisted the story but looked at rockisdead’s latest posts instead. There he was, shirtless with his beefy, perfectly tanned and well built body that was  _ also  _ scarred up in an unusual way. Rockisdead certainly wasn’t shy about showing off his body and it almost seemed like an act of defiance both because of the scars and because he wasn’t as tight and defined as most guys like him who painted Instagram with their eight packs. Rockisdead was just a little bit soft too.

And his pecs…

Steve was getting just a little bit hard as he stared at them; that now familiar gold necklace hanging perfectly between those pert little nipples…

_ “Steve! _ ’

That post was followed by a photo of an old Metallica album cover and an epically long screed in the caption about how music sucked these days.

Most captions longer than a few words were either about dick sucking or how modern music sucked. Steve noped out on the caption around the part where rockisdead questioned whether Gen Z even knew what guitars were and scrolled back up to the topless shot. 

Steve considered himself a connoisseur of rockisdead photos and this one was particularly good, partly because the guy’s thick and ringed fingers were touching his own chest and his long golden curls looked attractively messy and wind blown. His glittering blue eyes seemed to stare right into Steve’s soul.

Steve glanced around the parking lot of the Starbucks. He was in kind of a hidden corner under a tree.

No one would see…

Steve bit his lip, his eyes fixed on that body, those abs cushioned by a bit of extra flesh, those pecs, those eyelashes…

His cock ended up in his hand and Steve’s mouth hung open as he stroked himself furiously.

This was why he tried not look at rockisdead’s account while he was working.

He usually failed.

His phone pinged for a new ride just as his head thumped against the seat and he moaned, spilling into the towel he kept under his seat for just such occasions.

Steve caught his breath, feeling faintly disgusting as he tucked himself away, sprayed his emergency Febreeze on the towel, and stuck it back in its tote bag and under the seat.

He told himself it was okay because he always took the towel inside at the end of the day and put it in the wash.

So that made it alright.   
Right?

“You have a problem,” Steve muttered. He took a sip of chai latte, slipped on his RayBans, and pulled his five-year-old BMW out of his spot with a squeal of tires.

He definitely had a problem.

The problem was rockisdead.

Rockisdead had a fairly impressive follower count for somebody who didn’t appear to be selling anything and who came off like  _ kind  _ of a dick. 

The whole thing was Robin’s fault. She’d stumbled onto his account from some other friend’s account and showed some pictures to Steve, cackling about what a silly 80s throwback the guy was.

Steve hadn’t thought he was silly so much as hot as hell. 

Then he’d started thinking about rockisdead as a  _ person _ which was a whole other cuckoo bananas situation.

He followed the GPS directions to the pick-up not bothering to look at  _ who _ he was picking up and hoping it was no one annoying. Passengers were annoying about a third of the time. Which wasn’t  _ too _ bad. It would have been better if they at least tipped to make up for it.

The bigger problem was that rockisdead lived in Chicago which was not that far. 

It was close enough for Steve to fantasize that maybe someday who knows, he would potentially run into rockisdead who he did not even have the nerve to follow on Instagram…

The GPS took Steve on a long pick-up to a cheap motel off the very same highway that one would take to Chicago....or back. Steve parked and waited for his passenger, taking the spare 2 minutes to look at that picture again…

“I really have a problem.”

The car rocked as his passenger threw a gigantic duffle bag into the backseat and Steve frowned.    
He would have just put it in the trunk if the guy had bothered to ask. Instead the guy threw a second duffle and a backpack into the backseat before climbing into the passenger side next to Steve.

There was nothing  _ wrong _ with a passenger riding shotgun when there were no other riders per se. It happened on occasion.

But Steve always felt a little weird about it. It was kind of like somebody sitting right next to you in a movie theater when it was otherwise empty. It also seemed like he should be making conversation with the passenger and while Steve was a comfortably social person, a lot of passengers and most especially the ones who would  _ want _ to ride shotgun were a little...off.

Steve sighed and checked the name of the passenger on his app.

“Billy?” Steve said. There was no picture.

“That’s my name, amigo.” The voice was husky. Dead sexy really. “Don’t wear it out.”

Steve snorted at that and finally glanced over to get a look at his passenger.   
He nearly passed out even as he pulled into the street with a lurch.

It was rockisdead.

His hair looked different than it did in most of his selfies. His golden curls were pulled up into a ponytail. But he was wearing a blue button-up with the buttons undone right down to  _ there _ and old fashioned jeans tight as sin. He was a throwback if there ever was one alright. 

All his mysterious scars were also on display with his shirt worn so open (and on a fairly chilly day).   
His cologne was ridiculously strong and he was also leering at Steve who gawked at him as he stopped short in surprise.

“You see something you like there, pretty boy?” Billy said.

“Oh…” Steve coughed and he turned his head to look at the road. At least he was wearing shades. “No. Um...no.”

“Hey, you look familiar to me…” Billy aka Rockisdead took a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket and stuck one in his mouth.

“Don’t smoke in my car!” Steve said. He took off his shades and saw Billy’s expression soften just a fraction.

“I won’t light it then,” Billy said, shrugging. 

Steve thought of the term “oral fixation” and swallowed, licking his lips.

_ I am going to have a heart attack _ .

“Hey, you’re Tommy’s buddy!” Billy said. 

Steve swerved the car and grimaced as Billy cackled next to him and he swerved back, his heart racing.

That’s right… He had stumbled onto Rockisdead via Tommy’s account after seeing rockisdead tagged in a story…

He’d completely forgotten it was Tommy and that they would even know each other. But he hadn’t noticed anymore interactions between Tommy and Billy. 

“Tommy Hagen?” Steve said, pretending to be confused.

“Yeah yeah,” Billy said, nodding. “I’ve seen you on his Insta or whatever.”

Steve squinted. He hadn’t even talked to Tommy in months.

“Really?”

“Some old picture on a story, I think,” Billy said. He was leaning on his hand up against the window, staring Steve down. “You and his girlfriend. And then I scrolled down and I saw a whole bunch of pics of you guys…”

“I must’ve missed that one,” Steve murmured. He kept his eyes on the road which was difficult because Billy’s gaze was  _ intense _ . 

It almost sounded like Billy had seen him in Tommy’s story and then scrolled down into the depths of his feed looking for more of him from back when he’d been closer friends with Tommy.

Which meant he’d definitely found Steve’s account.

Maybe they had been mutually Insta-stalking each other...

It was a very nice thought.

“Yeah...ya know, as a matter of fact I asked him about you.” Billy’s voice had become a purr. Even from a couple feet away, Steve felt as if Billy were whispering in his ear. “Who’s the hottie with the doe eyes, I think were my exact words.”

_ Score _ .

Steve gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, the GPS murmuring, but he was back on the highway and there wasn’t much traffic. All he had to do was drive straight, and he knew the road like the back of his hand already anyway.

“I’ve been stalking your Insta for months,” Steve said in a rush, his cheeks burning. “Same exact thing. I saw you tagged in his story and I was like...who the fuck is that.”

“Huh.” Billy sat back in his seat. “Sounds like fate. So you like my account, huh?”

Steve glanced at him and the seduction of Billy’s leer was so intense, he audibly swallowed.

He turned his gaze quickly back to the road.

“Yeah… I mean sometimes it makes me laugh, all your rants about how 80s music was better and 80s fashion and all that bullshit-”

“It’s  _ not _ bullshit,” Billy said firmly.

“Oh yeah, I’m sure you’d just love to live in the 80’s,” Steve said wryly. He heard Billy huff in consternation. “For a gay guy like yourself, that’s just a  _ great _ time-”

“Okay okay-”

“I mean no Instagram, no selfies, but that shit’s hardly your biggest problem if it’s the 80s-”

“Are you done?” Billy said. “Look,  _ obviously _ a lot of things are better now but...not everything.”

Steve raised his eyebrows doubtfully.

“I’m just saying the first time I went to pride a couple years ago was disappointing as fuck,” Billy said with a snort. “Thought it was gonna be like...an orgy or something. Instead all I got was some free pronoun pins and a lecture on self-care from some twink in a harness who saw me smoking and lost his fucking mind.”

Steve laughed so hard he started to tear up and he gripped the steering wheel, fighting to compose himself. “Okay, but pronouns pins  _ are _ useful especially if you need them like my friend Eleven uses them and-”

“I didn’t say they weren’t  _ useful _ ! I’m just saying _ I  _ would have preferred, ya know, a free BJ on a float. That’s just me personally! Or something. No one was even drinking!”

“Poor baby,” Steve said. He licked his lips, summoning his courage. He had learned a lot about Billy via his Instagram and sometimes he’d wondered if he would actually get along with him as much as he was attracted to that persona in the selfies. But so far, he was excited by Billy. Billy was fun, fascinating, and also made Steve feel comfortable in a way that was oddly familiar. “Can I ask you something?”

“You can try,” Billy said warily.

The highway seemed like an endless stretch. He didn’t even know where he was going exactly. It as some vaguely familiar address in the direction of his own home town. But it was a long drive and he was thankful for that. It gave him more time to take his shot.

“Can I ask you about the scars?” Steve said. His voice came out softer than he’d intended. He glanced at Billy whose mouth twitched as he looked away. “The thing is, I think it’s kind of cool how you show them off really. I mean you’re hot as hell. And they’re just a part of you. I was just wondering because you never mention them in captions… Sorry. Rambling.”

“Um...I used to be kind of a junkie,” Billy said, staring straight ahead. “Well, not like. I was. An addict. Probably because my dad beat the shit out of me and it was either that or put my head through a wall. But it made me, ya know...not myself.” He looked down at his hands that sported rings in silver and black. Steve kept his eyes on the road and reached over to take Billy’s hand in his.

“Did a lot of shitty things when I was strung out like that,” Billy muttered. “Half of them to myself. Anyway, I wrecked my car. I had this awesome vintage Camaro. Midnight Blue. Totaled it at this old mall one night when I was totally out of my mind. Fucked me up so bad I had to go to physical therapy and shit to learn to walk right again, learn to use my hands… Anyway, that’s the scars. But…” He shrugged. “I’m clean and shit now. So.”

Steve took that all in, letting the words sit in the silence for a moment.

“Thanks for telling me,” he finally said. “I’m sorry you went through all that.”

“Christ,” Billy said. He fidgeted with his cigarette. “Now it’s all heavy…”

“That’s okay.”

“Not exactly selling myself well,” Billy grumbled. He seemed nervous, casting Steve little glances.

Steve grinned and he pulled off the highway, driving them to a dark and deserted side street as Billy watched, confused. He parked and sat back, turning his head to look at Billy who finally seemed out of sorts and tentative in an adorable way.

“You don’t have to sell me on anything,” Steve said. He tugged on Billy’s hand, just now noticing that he’d painted every other nail purple.

_ Sexy _ , Steve thought.

“Where are you going anyway?” Steve said, examining Billy’s nails. “I didn’t even look.”

“Hawkins.”

Steve sounded an incoherent duck-like exclamation and gaped at him. “ _ Hawkins _ ? I’m in Hawkins. I-I mean I live in Hawkins. I’m from Hawkins.  _ Hawkins _ ?”

“You live in Hawkins, huh?” Billy grinned, licking his teeth. “Yeah, I’m finally seeing my kid step-sister for the first time since I got clean. I never visited before because of my old man. I skipped out once I turned eighteen but the asshole’s gone now. And Max is a cool kid. We’ve stayed in touch.”

Steve turned to eye the giant duffle bags in the backseat.

“Um...so how long are you gonna be in Hawkins?”

“Matter of fact, my plans are kinda...open ended? Found myself needing a place to crash and Susan’s renting me a room so…”

“So,” Steve whispered. “I like open ended. Open ended works for me.”

“Shit, I  _ do _ like you,” Billy murmured.

Steve squeezed that sexy hand and the moment before they kissed, he thought:  _ This is it. This is the rest of my life. _

He wasn’t used to feeling so sure about anything. But now he was completely sure. As sure as he was that Dustin would complain for two weeks straight about the next ios update even though he only ever used Android anyway, so was Steve sure that he’d just met the love of his life.

And when Billy’s tongue curled around his and he moaned into Steve’s mouth, he pulled back slightly just to smile and look at that  _ face _ again that was now wide-eyed and hopeful.

“You’re so much better in real life,” Steve said, and kissed him again.


End file.
